Stan Van Gundy was featured in the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. The experienced coach also took the job because Zion Williamson is one of the best young players in the league. When he was introduced, SVG spoke about how he would like to use the top pick of 2019.
“He’s an incredible playmaker for his size,” said Van Gundy. “He can grab the rebound, switch over and then make plays (…). I don’t see him as a power forward or a center. I’m not at all sure whether any name plays a role for him.”
Under former coach Alvin Gentry, Williamson mostly started as a foursome and spent some time in the center position during the game. That was difficult to stop offensively, but at the same time the Pelicans had too little defense on the field because Williamson has not yet reached an NBA level in this category.
Nevertheless, Van Gundy made it clear that the organization around Williamson wanted to build a team. “We have to find out which positions we want to put him in and who fits best around him. We don’t want to reduce him to one position.” For SVG it is rather a process that could take a while, which in the end could be worthwhile.
However, Van Gundy kept a low profile on the goals for the coming season, but emphasized that the team had to take a step forward, especially defensively (21st place last year). “The players have to commit themselves to the defense if they want to break anything in a very talented Western Conference,” preached Van Gundy.
The Pelicans ended the season in a disappointing 13th place in the west and ended up with a 30-42 record. The gap to the last playoff place was at least 4 games in the end.
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